What is post-secondary education?

Post-secondary education refers to that stage of learning that is followed by secondary education (high school). Once an individual has completed his or her schooling of 12 years, they are eligible to enroll themselves for further studies, all of which are classified under post-secondary education. Many students enroll themselves in the following types of post-secondary programs after graduating high school:

• A technical institution with the intention of achieving a certificate or diploma in any type of vocational education for instance truck driving or plumbing. The advantage of having a diploma in this particular manner allows an individual to get specific jobs according to their expertise
• They can also enroll themselves in a community college with the intent of achieving an associate’s degree
• Or they can simply get enrolled into a college or university aiming for a four-year bachelor degree

Hence, whatever path they choose, any sort of education an individual acquires after completing high school is referred to as post-secondary education.

A majority of people in the United States tend to keep a misconception that post-secondary education is worth-less. They have a mindset that they can get high-paying jobs without falling into the trap of getting a college degree. This mindset is supported by some facts, one of which being research that took place on what percentage of students acquire post-secondary education after completing high school. The statistics of this research showed a decline in the number of students enrolling themselves in college each year.

There are numerous reasons why people think a college degree is unnecessary. One of which was discovered to be the glorification of college dropouts.

• A great number of teenagers look up to Mark Zuckerberg as an inspiration as he dropped out of Harvard and invented Facebook. If he hadn’t dropped out of college, there is a slight chance that he may not have been the fifth wealthiest man in the world today.
• Another Harvard dropout who is now the wealthiest man in the world is Bill Gates, another great inspiration for potential college dropouts or just candidates not willing to study further than high school.
• Travis Kalanick, whose name is not as big as the ones mentioned previously, is yet a name provided by many people as an example of someone who dropped out just months before graduation, and today, he is the CEO of Uber.

Another reason why people do not study further after finishing high school is that they do not want to drown in debt. On average, a regular college or institution offering a four-year bachelor’s degree costs about 40% of a family’s income. Thus for people belonging to the middle class (about half of the population), that cost becomes way too much.

In addition, a great number of people keep this belief that going out, working, and acquiring experience is more significant than sitting in a mundane room full of books and people which may not be as good a learning process as the former.

For reasons mentioned above, or rather, the big names mentioned, people have developed a misapprehension of college.

After reading everything mentioned above, you may be questioning the worth of a college degree as well. Well, let me tell you something, just because a number of geniuses dropped out of the top colleges in the United States, does not make a college degree any less significant than it actually is.

While it is debatable whether a college degree is mandatory for an individual to acquire or not, it is always better to have something than nothing. If you’re applying for a particular job without possessing a college degree, the chances of you getting that job is far less than that individual who has a college degree, which gives him the upper hand.

Furthermore, candidates not having a college degree have very limited options to choose from when it comes to pursuing their careers. From odd jobs like babysitting to working at grocery stores, it also depends upon the capability of the individual as to what they’re good at. Many people resort to writing jobs, which although have a variety of options to be hired from such as book ghostwriters for hire, songwriting, and creative writing, only exceptional writers can stay in this field for a long time, that too unless they get replaced by someone having a bachelor’s degree.

Furthermore, on average, college graduates tend to have higher-paying jobs as compared to those who don’t. It was found that 2.2% of college graduates faced unemployment while the percentage of high school graduates facing unemployment was 4.1%, being almost double that of college graduates.

In conclusion, post-secondary education, no matter how overrated, is essential for a candidate to acquire in order to become financially independent in the long term, having a stable job and the privilege to choose a career path for themselves. As more and more occupations that require a post-secondary education emerge, it is needless to say that acquiring a degree or a post-secondary diploma plays a pivotal role in your success.